


Coming Home to You

by Catsarecutebutaliens



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at Humor, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Get-Together Fic, Humor, I dont know what to tag, I wanted to try this one so here we go, I will probably add some tags later on, Miscommunication, Not canon obviously, Own Characters - Freeform, Post-Iron Man 1, Probably some angst, Romantic Fluff, and some miscommuniation, at least thats what I think, but it's not bad I promise, canon divergency, i made up Peppers family, peppers family, where am I even going with this story someone tell me please
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-04 20:53:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15155393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catsarecutebutaliens/pseuds/Catsarecutebutaliens
Summary: Pepper makes a mistake while talking to her family - which now thinks Tony is her boyfriend. Forced to attend a birthday party with her new "boyfriend" she asks Tony for help.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> What's up, it's me with some multichapter fic I will hopefully finish. I love pretend-relationships so here we go. Enjoy. (Everything is unbetaed so if someone wants to help, feel free to message me.)

Usually, Pepper liked coming home to her family, it was nice to flee from the stress and the public for a while, though she did miss her work. This time, it was her grandma's 70th birthday and she had taken exactly two days off, or better one and a half as she planned on going back to work the second she arrived. Most of her nearest family was there, including her parents, her grandpa and her two sisters with their partners. It seemed she was the only single person at the table, something which had always been used to tease her. Kathleen, the oldest, had been married for a while now and while Theresa wasn't married yet, she and her partner have been together since high school. So it was only natural for them to tease the lonely middle child, so caught up in her job she had no time for a private life. As soon as they had found out she worked for Tony, it had gotten even worse. Still, she was happy to be with them.

The day went by rather quickly, after sitting together and eating the birthday cake her mother had made the day before, they moved on to dinner. Pepper couldn't remember the last time she had spent that much time with her family but she did enjoy it to a certain degree. The company was nice, the questions regarding her private life and her job, though nowadays these seemed to be one and the same thing anyway, not so much.  
"Sooo," Katie asked while grabbing the mashed potatoes from her wife, "You work for Tony Stark, right?" Before Pepper could answer, her other sister jumped into the conversation, an excited spark in her eyes.  
"Don't ask the boring questions, K, everyone knows she works for him. Now, the interesting stuff is whether she sleeps with him or not."  
Suddenly it was very quiet, everyone had stopped eating, even her grandma, and seemed to be focused on her. Pepper chocked on her peas and quickly shot a sharp glance at her sister. That's why she hated family dinner sometimes.  
"Why would you even think something like that, Tess?" Redness was creeping its way up her face and she could swear her mother was actually laughing. To her own surprise, she didn't say no right away. While she was definitely not sleeping with him, it didn't surprise her that her family was thinking that. Peppers whole life revolved around him in this weird, half work, half something else and she wouldn't give it up for anything.  
"Oh, dear, is it right that this gentleman is your boyfriend?" Her grandmother said with a happy smile on her face. "You are finally settling down, how wonderful." If they hadn't been staring at her before, they would do so now for sure. She loved her granny and it would surely break her heart if Pepper said no. Getting married, or at least being in a committed relationship, was very important to her still a bit old-fashioned grandparents. Even compared to her cousins, she was probably the only one without a partner. Lying for once wouldn't hurt, would it? Tony would never find out and she could just say they broke up the next time someone brought it up. Before she could stop herself, her mouth was already saying the fatal words.  
"Yes, actually, he is. We are not just sleeping together, Tess." While her whole family started talking again, surprised but happy due to the news, and her grandma settled back in her chair with contentment in her eyes, Pepper could only stare at her plate in disbelief. Oh god, what had she done?  
The rest of the evening went better, though she had to dodge the question about her and Tony's relationship more than once. She managed to not ride herself into it any further and excused herself to bed early, after giving her grandma another kiss.  
When she woke up the next morning, she had almost forgotten about the incident. Pepper checked her phone while going downstairs, already showered and dressed, suitcase in her hand. Some new work emails, one text from Happy and two from Tony, which surprised her. He had promised to let her be for two days and even insisted on her taking the private jet, which she would return in in less than two hours. Happy had only written her the time he'd pick her up at the airport and she saved Tony's text for later, as breakfast was already on the table when she arrived in the kitchen.  
"Morning, Ginny," her mother called from the stove and gestured towards the table. She sat down, picking up the steaming cup of coffee in front of her. The smell woke up the last dizzy part of her brain and she started eating her pancakes. Kate and her wife, Monica, came down and joined her and when it was time for her to leave, the whole family was there to say goodbye. As she hugged her mother one last time and went down to her car, Tessa called after her.  
"Bring your boyfriend for gramps birthday in two weeks or I will kick your ass." She stopped in her tracks, turning around to face her sister. Her mind was basically screaming `abort mission´ in all caps.  
"Uhm, I'm not sure whether he has time, you know. He-"  
"Oh, no excuses. We need to meet him, right ma?" The traitor, aka Peppers mother, nodded, flashing her daughter a grin.  
Fuck.

The flight back was just as quiet as the drive to the airport. She used the time to answer her emails and finally have a look at the two texts Tony had sent. Tony. God, she either had to lie to her family again and tell them they broke up, which they would definitely not buy, or ask him to be her boyfriend for a few days while they celebrate her grandpa's birthday. Either way was definitely not a good option, although the latter scared her the most.  
Since the whole Iron Man thing they had been getting closer and it was scaring both of them. Before revealing himself at the press conference, he had actually kind of suggested a relationship, but it was too early for her, too unstable. If they tried and it didn't work out, they'd both be hurt and she would most likely quit her job. Living and working for her ex-boyfriend was not a good idea. So no, they weren't together, probably not even close to being a couple. But he was her friend nonetheless, asking him for a favor in return for once would be no problem. Pepper and decided to deal with that after landing in California, she still had enough time to find a good way out of it.  
She finally opened his messages, shifting a bit in her seat to make herself more comfortable. The first one was a picture of DUM-E in Tony's workshop, either taken by JARVIS or Tony himself. The second text read  
"Miss you already, he does too :(. See you in a few hours." It had been sent around midnight, so she guessed he hasn't slept at all or not enough. A smile appeared on her face while she read his words and her heart felt lighter in an instant. "Don't worry," she typed back, her gaze landing on the world beneath her for a second, "I'm already on my way home. Try not to burn down the house."

Happy was waiting for her as promised, she saw him leaning against his car as she went down the stairs of the jet, thanking the pilot once again.  
"Hey, thanks for picking me up," she greeted, already on her way to the backseat, her small suitcase would easily fit next to her. He just nodded with a friendly smile, went back behind the steering wheel and started driving. Traveling was usually quite boring without someone to keep her company, especially without Tony. But it was good he wasn't there, she still had some time to figure out what she was going to tell him. Another text had arrived in the meantime, she had turned off her phone to get some work done while she was still in the air.  
"Everything's fine, don't worry. Gonna see you in a bit." This time, she only sent back a small heart, not even thinking about it. Her use of emojis was everything but excessive, he was the only one she used them with anyway.  
When they finally arrived at the mansion her back was hurting from sitting so much and she'd love to walk around for a bit, even if it was just within this castle of a house. While Pepper hadn't moved in (yet), she had some of her clothes and items in the room she could easily title hers. It was actually a guest room, far away from Tonys but still on the same floor. Not having to go home just to change her clothes had made her job easier by far, particularly with the Iron Man situation in mind. Pepper had aided his injuries more than once in the middle of the night after JARVIS had woken her up.  
The AI also welcomed her now as she went into the house, telling her Tony was in his workshop and waiting for her. She decided to make him wait a little longer and bring her suitcase upstairs first; afterward, she went into the kitchen and made two cups of coffee, putting more sugar than usual into hers as she was in the mood for something sweet. The back pain had been subsiding since she got out of the car so she could hopefully avoid any painkillers. With the two mugs, she went finally down the stairs and asked JARVIS to open the doors, since her hands were full. Tony was hunched over his table, typing something into his computer and the music was blasting as loud as always. Pepper set the drinks down on the table next to him and waited to be noticed, interrupting a genius in their work never turns out well after all. It only took him a minute or so this time and he cut the music as soon as he did.  
"Pep, you are back," he called out, a huge grin on his face, his gaze falling on the cups beside him.  
"And you brought coffee, god, you are an angel." The situation got awkward when he started drinking so she used the chance to analyze him. His hands and shirt were greasy and fairly dirty as it regularly happened when he was tinkering with his machines. Some of the dirt had found a way into his hair and a small smear was on his nose, making her want to wipe it away. They hadn't even hugged yet so she was indecisive about what to do. The bags under his eyes only confirmed what she had already guessed, he had gotten no sleep all along.  
"So," she eventually said, trying to break the silence, "No welcome back party?" He laughed, setting down the cup and coming a step closer to take her all in.  
"Not this time, no. I'd give you a hug or something but - well." Tony gestured towards his clothes and smiled, seeming relieved to have her back. The way he looked at her, all warm and puppy eyes, really made her want to kiss him, right there and then. She wouldn't even care about her clothes for a change. Instead, she picked up her cup and gave him another smile before reminding him of the meeting in an hour. "And please, change your clothes."  
Pepper called over her shoulder while making her way up the stairs.  
"Everything for you, honey," he called back.  
Yes, it was good to be home again.


	2. Let me talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me a day longer than expected, but I'm happy with it now. Enjoy!

Pepper had considered quitting more than once. The beginning of her time with him had probably been the period with the most of these thoughts. After that, it had gotten better, she had started to love this job and quite frankly him, too. Maybe not in a romantic way, at least not at first, but in this platonic, caring way that made her heart ache every time he put on that damn suit and almost got himself killed. These feelings are also the reason she actually quit, once, in a very weak moment. It had only lasted for a minute or two and she had regretted it the second it had left her mouth, but she had done it.

Pepper was considering it again, right there, sitting in her office with a half-answered email in front of her. Her mother had called, excited that her family was finally meeting her boyfriend, who was no other than the famous Tony Stark (and real "eye candy" as her mother put it). She had gone on for twenty minutes, saying how proud she was and how happy, how she wanted to know every tiny little detail about them and their relationship. If it hadn't been for this email to arrive the moment it did, she would have probably broken down and told the truth. Instead, she apologized, promised to call again and broke off the call to got back to work. At least that hadn't been a complete lie.

The ache in her heart turned into real pain she could almost physically feel, the more she thought about it, the more it hurt. Not because she hated the thought of him being her boyfriend, no, it was because she loved it. She wanted it to be true so badly, wanted to be just as excited and ecstatic as her mother. So, instead of getting some more work done before calling it a day, she was debating leaving him for good. As soon as the thought had crossed her mind, Pepper had known she could never do it. Especially not now, with all his superhero fighting and Tony almost getting himself killed time after time. Nothing would work if it wasn't for her and they both knew it. Pepper wanted to leave because they, as a couple, would never work out. She knew they would try to make it last, especially him, but in the end, one thing or another would end it. It could be the press and the pressure from the public, it could be their work dynamic or even just the fact that they were two completely different people with different needs and wants. One would always give too much, care too much and at that moment, she couldn't even tell who would be too invested. Maybe both of them. Maybe that was the problem. They were trying too hard.

"Hey, Pep, you hungry? I got us some pizza."

Tony's voice came suddenly and without warning, she jumped and her knees experienced a painful collision with the underside of her desk.

"Ever heard of knocking?", she mumbled but was already getting up. Food and a break sounded good. Maybe, just maybe, they could even get some talking done. She still had to find a solution to her problem and the date was inching closer and closer with every second that passed. 

Pepper left her heels behind, she had long but taken them off the moment she sat down. These shoes would kill her someday, was it by giving her a broken ankle or making her fall down the stairs, though these weren't mutually exclusive.

"Great, I've already opened the win," he beamed and was out of the door with her a few steps behind him. As usual, he was wearing some old shirt and sweatpants which had seen better days. With her office attire, she always felt a bit overdressed when he was in his workshop clothes, at least he had taken a shower before coming up this time. Pepper may have left her work behind for a short moment but her thoughts followed her all the way down the stairs and would probably stay for the rest of the day as well.

The lights in the living room were slightly dimmed and a candle was burning on the table next to a cardboard box and two filled wine glasses.  
Roses, she realized, it was smelling like roses. Breathing in the calming scent she sat down next to him and tugged up her legs beside her while reaching out for the alcohol. Maybe this could loosen her tongue and make her talk to him as a friend, for once, and not as an employee. Being distant kept her safe but maybe it was time to take some risks.

Curious, she eyed the dark glass bottle on the table and cringed when she saw the plaquette. Another thing she had to get used to, even after so many years. This man would drink away thousands of dollars in wine without even hesitating and eat cheap pizza to it like it was just some unbranded drink from Walmart. Still, Pepper had to admit it was delicious no matter what.

They ate in silence for approximately five minutes before he started talking, mouth still full, about anything and everything. He told her what he had been doing down in his tech cave and what new upgrades he wanted to make for JARVIS, who was thoughtful enough to turn on some nice music as a background noise. She enjoyed hearing him talk, she really did, but her heart was still heavy and her head up in the clouds thinking and thinking and thinking, her thoughts turning like a carousel.

"You know," she interrupted him mid-sentence, as he was about to explain some new cleaning technique for his suit, "as much as I love hearing you talk about all that stuff I don't understand, there is something I need to... ask you."

The short pause she made let some confused wrinkles appear on his forehead. It itched her in her fingers to smooth them. To control her urges, which had indeed loosened up over the course of the evening, she put her glass down on the table and started fiddling with the seam of her blouse.

"Whatever you want, Pep, I don't think there is anything I'd say no to. Well, except maybe firing you. Or burning down my stuff. Or-" 

"Let me talk then." She interrupted him again, holding back a small smile at his rambling and felt the tension in her shoulders coming back. Tony leaned into the cushions, mirroring her expression, and gestured her to go on.

"I met with my family two days ago, right? And I may have mentioned," she swallowed away the lump that started to form in her throat. Was she really doing this? It seemed like it. But she had to tell him sooner or later and her window was getting smaller and smaller. 

"Please, don't assume it's true but I may have told them we are a- a thing. As in together."

Tony, after he had overcome the initial second of shock and confusion, let out a small laugh and started eating again.

"Alright."

Pepper only looked at him, puzzled and obviously more surprised by his reaction than he was by her words. This was something she had not expected and she was thrown out of balance for a moment. Why couldn't he just stick to her plan (which she hadn't even told him about, but still)?

"Alright? Tony, I lied to them and now they want to meet you in less than two weeks at my grandfather's birthday party. As you may have noticed, we are not a couple." Saying she was completely calm would have been a lie.

"We aren't?" he asked, dead serious and ready to take another bite. Pepper grabbed the pizza piece from his hand and tossed it into the almost empty box.

"No, we are not. Please, take this seriously. You have to call and say you are busy with work or some superhero stuff. I never ask for any favors so please, do this. For me."

Suddenly, all the playfulness was gone from his face, leaving him with a strange expression she hadn't seen since the Iron Man revelation, or, to be precise, slightly before that. She decided she didn't like it. He leaned forward, the smallest of smiles tugging on his lips, and reached out to her, putting one hand onto her knee. Pepper could feel the heat spreading through her body as it sought through the thin fabric and distracted her. She didn't like that either, though that applied more to the latter part.

"What if I want to meet your family? Don't you think after all these years it's time for that? So what if they think I'm your boyfriend. I already told you, Pepper, you are very dear to me. I-," Her hand was on his mouth before she could stop herself. She could not let him finish this sentence, didn't want him to say the words which would turn her world upside down again. 

Dinner forgotten, she slowly stood up, hand still resting on his mouth. He hadn't licked it yet, but the possibility still stood. Tony's eyes followed her as she picked up her phone and then, as she was ready to leave, lifted her hand from his lips.

"I will send you the script as soon as possible so you should be able to call the next day. Good night, Mr. Stark." Pepper left a lot unsaid, this was all she managed with her thoughts and heart racing. She was glad to be barefoot, otherwise, her knees would have given in a minute ago,

Tony was too stunned to answer and when he found his voice again, she was gone, leaving behind a lipstick stain on a glass and confusion blooming in his head.

 

Pepper kept her word. The next morning, JARVIS informed him of her email and read out the few sentences she had written the day before. It wasn't much, all he had to do was inform them he couldn't come because of an important meeting in Asia, which was actually a week later, and that he regretted missing the chance of meeting them. Clear and simple, as it was Pepper's way of doing things, and it would take him right out of the equation. One call and her problem would be solved.

Of course, it wasn't that easy. Tony wanted to call them, she had asked him to after all, but as he was sitting next to his armor, ready to call, he found his tongue stuck. Truth be told, he didn't want this to end so quickly. What if, and he allowed himself to actually continue this thought, what if I would meet them as her boyfriend. What if, and this was more wishful thinking than a logical conclusion, what if they could work this out and be an actual couple, official and all. 

"Sir, Ms. Potts is on her way downstairs." The A.I. interrupted his thoughts, which he was quite glad about. Getting stuck in a daydream wouldn't be helpful right now.

"Thanks, J, does she seem angry?" he asked back, drying off his oily hands on a rag, ready to deal with everything she could possibly throw his way. Before he could answer, Pepper came into view and typed her code in so the door slid open and let her in. She had a stack of papers under her right arm and a cup of coffee in her left hand, which she gave to him.

"Mr. Stark, I need you to read and sign these within the next two hours," Pepper told him and put the stack down on his desk, a distant and somewhat cold look on his face. He nodded in approval and hoped JARVIS would remind him if he forgot to do it right away. An angry Pepper was never good and he really didn't want to make her job even more difficult than it already was. 

"Did you make the call?" She sounded slightly insecure but her mask was still intact, though her teeth were sinking into her bottom lip from time to time, telling him all he needed to know. Over the years, he had learned to read her body language quite well.

"Actually," he responded, knowing he was getting into dangerous waters now, "I don't think I will. At least not in the way you want me to."

After a short second of hesitation, she straightened her back and pulled out her phone. "If you have a problem with the wording just tell me. I thought taking the meeting in Hong-Kong was a good idea since it's not too far in the future. Any further lies would be counterproductive."

Unable to hold back a sigh, he stood up and went forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. Pepper basically turned to stone right there, thumbs still resting on the display. The tension in her body was unbelievable and he had to resist the urge of massaging her shoulders while holding her. Tony tried to meet her eyes, but her gaze was fixated on a point behind him.

"What I mean is, I'm not going to do it period. I want to meet your family, I want to work this out with you. If it's because of some stupid lie, then so be it."

She yanked herself free, stumbling in her steps as she hurried to the door. Maybe he should drop the touching part, for now, it seemed to do more damage than good. Tony had already known this would be difficult but she was really putting on a challenge, not that he could blame her. If anything, he was sad.  
Panic and anger was her immediate reaction for now and he could hear the tremor in her voice as she spoke up again.

"I will send you another possible version. Remember the forms. Two hours."

Just as the day before, she was gone before he could manage an answer. Great, now she was not only panicking but also angry at him. Screws scattered on the ground as he shoved some of his work off the table, trying to get some of his own frustration out. 

"JARVIS," he called out, internally making a decision he would definitely regret later on, "call her parents."


	3. Screw up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this took me so long. I've had it in my drafts for a while but no idea how to finish it, so this got rather short. A lot happened and I temporarily lost my motivation. Hopefully, new updates will follow soon. Thank you for reading!

Pepper didn't talk to him for a full two days. When they went into the next meeting a day later, Tony with clean clothes and the obligatory cup of coffee in his hand, everything seemed to be fine. They got the deal, spent some time talking with the attendants and then went to grab early dinner on their way back to the mansion. Usually, Pepper tried to regulate their junk food intake at least a small bit but she was craving fatty food as well.   
Tony had accepted her explanation with a grin and promptly told Happy to stop at their favorite place.

Just as he was waiting for the cashier to give him his change, which he would probably give back right away anyway, Pepper got a call. She let out a small groan and rolled her eyes as she saw the number but quickly answered with a small, genuine smile on her lips. The way her face almost invisibly lit up made his heart stop for a second. 

"Hi, mum. Did Tony-" she tried to say but got cut off by the voice on the other end of the line. He couldn't hear what exactly was being said, which bothered is curious self more than he would later admit but he could try to guess from the way her face changed. Not that he was good at it. Lucky for him, it was pretty obvious.

The smile slipped and a frown appeared on her forehead instead. Tony had to get reminded three times to take the coins the cashier tried to give him as he was still busy studying Pepper's facial expression. Confusion gave way to distress which then turned into anger.

When she ended the call and Tony went to pick up the plastic bags with their food, she left the store without another word, her face frozen. He hurried after her as fast as he could, debating asking her about what upset her so much. 

"What was it?" he asked as innocently as possible and slid next to her into the car. The furious look in his direction shut him up.

Debilitating silence settled over them on the remaining ride back. He knew what had happened even without asking, though he had dared to hope for a different outcome. The Chinese takeout in his lap was swaying dangerously as Happy stopped at the front door and opened the car to let them out. Pepper was inside before his feet could even touch the ground. 

Tony hurried after her again (how was she so fast in these heels anyway?), set on talking to her but she stormed up into her office and locked the door, leaving behind nothing but anger and disappointment in the air. 

He was forced to eat alone, accompanied by only his thoughts and the occasional comments from JARVIS.

"Idiot. You are a fucking idiot," he murmured while taking a bite from his third spring roll. The food was good, it was their chosen restaurant for a reason. After he had finished terminating about half of the meal, he put the leftovers into the fridge. If she wanted to, she would come and grab something herself. Maybe that would soften her temper a bit.

Tony left his hated suit jacket sprawled over a chair and changed as soon as he was down in his workshop again. Back in his old sweatpants and a t-shirt he got to work, his real work, and quickly forgot his surroundings entirely, blasting music loud enough to entertain the whole house. If Pepper did show up as unlikely as that was, he didn't notice her. A few exhausting hours later, he collapsed onto a couch, wrench still in his hand.

For the first time in a while, he woke up without a blanket draped over his sleeping body.

\--

While she still took care of everything and never once neglected her duties, she did all that without talking to him. No word came over her lips, which were pressed together just a tad too tight to be casual, as she organized his day and left Jarvis to tell him to get his ass out of the basement. Of course, he tried to talk to her more than once, in the car, after (and occasionally during) the meetings, when he met her accidentally (or completely on purpose) somewhere in the kitchen. 

The silence continued. 

It was not like her anger wasn't justified, no, he knew it was. Still, Tony had hoped she would get over it quickly so they could start making plans for the coming days together.   
"She will calm down eventually," he said to himself, laying under one of his cars to fix the engine, "it's not like I wanted to upset her."  
He didn't expect an answer and didn't receive one.

Another day like that went by, the leftovers in the fridge magically disappeared, probably into Pepper's stomach or the trash, and still no word from his assistant. Tony started to become annoyed, even though he knew the silence treatment was his own fault.

He had called her parents and, against Jarvis advice, told them that yes, he'd obviously come to the birthday party and that he was more than happy to finally meet his girlfriend's family. The word girlfriend had painted a bright smile onto his face and the rest of the day went by in a happy haze. That was until Pepper found out. 

After these two days and some talking with his A.I, he had decided to sort this out. There wasn't much time left until they had to meet their parents and he really wanted these days to be nice. Maybe he was being selfish (he was) and maybe this had been a bad idea from the beginning (he should have listened to Pepper) but everything finally felt right.

So he got some chocolate, going against Jarvis advice once again, and went to knock at her office door, waiting for once to be let inside. When no answer came he knocked again, the smile on his face slightly slipping and when she still didn't answer after the third time, the anxiety took over and made him open the door.

Pepper did not look up as he entered, she didn't even acknowledge his presence otherwise. Somewhat insecure, he put the pralines down in front of her, saying the obvious.

"I brought you some chocolate." Again, no reaction. She continued to type on her keyboard and then sent the email she had been writing on just to open the next one and answer it as well. 

"It's an apology," he said and cleared his throat. While her mouth stayed shut, she reacted in a different manner: Without even looking, she pushed the box right off her desk and into the trash can next to it.

For a minute, he was too stunned to react. Then, the first sparks of anger made their way up his throat, overrode the anxiety and spoke before his thoughts caught up. Later on, he would mentally slap himself for his words.

"You do know that this kind of behavior is childish, right? Silence treatment, really? How old are you, five?" The glare she shot in his direction shut him up immediately, but he was low-key proud to have provoked a reaction from her. 

"Childish? I am not the one who tries everything to finally screw his assistant." The disgust and rage in her voice were more than clear and momentarily, he was taken away by the strength of her feelings.

"I- That was not what I was trying to do." She just snorted, turned off the computer and grabbed her purse from where it was leaning against the desk. All that happened in one fluid motion and he was too surprised to react. Pepper passed him in her heels and he stretched out a hand without thinking to catch her wrist, to hold her here because- "I need to talk to you about this," he pleaded, meeting her furious eyes. Her gaze went down on where his fingers were holding her wrist and he quickly let go, instead intertwining his own hands with each other. He should really stop being so distracted by her all the time.

To his own surprise, she stayed in the door frame, arms around her midsection. She looked still very angry but there was a certain vulnerability in her posture that made his heart ache.

"Then talk."

A relieved sigh escaped his lips and when the words started tumbling out of his mouth, he had to restrain himself from speaking too fast.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for going behind your back and not listening to what you wanted. I was- I am an idiot and I don't know how you put up with me. All I wanted was to meet your family." All I wanted was to be with you. The last part of the sentence went unsaid. He could have said more, told her how he didn't want to have sex with her but that would have been a lie and they both knew that.

Pepper looked to the side, thinking about his words (she was smarter than him in that matter) before her eyes landed on him again.

"You are right, I was being childish. You upset me and I didn't want to deal with it. I promise it won't happen again, Mr. Stark. My private life should never intervene with my work. I was being unprofessional. Please, forget about this matter and I will take care of everything else. Good night."

With a last friendly but distant nod, she left the room and him behind. A few minutes later, he could hear her car leave the driveway while he was still frozen on the spot. 

This whole thing had not turned out the way he had wanted it to.


	4. Screwing up again (but fixing it anyway)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, people who read this, it's me. Inspiration struck so I produced this. I think it is good enough to publish so here ya go. Btw I have actually no idea what I am doing with this story or what my plot is so if this sounds incoherent it probably is. Anyway, this detail won't stop me so buckle up. This is gonna be a long ride.

Tony tried to fix it, he really did. The problem is, he had never been very good at meaningful social interactions. He didn't even know what exactly his goal was. Make her forgive him? Get her to talk to him?  
So, in a lack of better knowledge, he did it the way he had been taught: He bought her stuff.

It started off innocently enough with a pair of new high heels. Jimmy Choo, workplace appropriate and only about 600 dollars, not that he looked at the price anyway. To be completely honest, he didn't even look at the shoes until Pepper slammed the open box down in front of him. He had asked JARVIS to select the pair which fit her profile the most and have them delivered to her apartment. For once, he didn't trust his own judgment and he definitely didn't want to screw this up even further. Of course, that's exactly what he did.

"What exactly are these?", she asked him, arms crossed in front of her chest. It was early in the morning, not even seven am yet, and Tony hadn't expected her for another hour. He looked up from the holographic blueprint he was working on, gazed at the box for a second and went back to editing again.

"Shoes, I assume. Nice ones, as well. You like 'em?" For a minute, Pepper was silent, either in shock or too angry to yell at him just yet. When she did speak, the restraint in her voice was obvious.  
"Mr. Stark, as much as I appreciate the thought," she sounded not like she did appreciate it and he had to bite back a smile, "I can not accept them. I don't understand why you gave them to me in the first place." She sounded genuinely confused, a fact which puzzled him as well. 

Tony finally looked up and was met with piercing blue eyes staring him down. A look at her and he noticed her hair was hanging in loose curls down her shoulders and her face surprisingly bare of makeup. Her clothes were work attire as expected but she seemed to have been in a hurry to get to him. A small blush had formed on her cheeks, out of anger he assumed, and she looked, for a lack of better words, cute.

Trying to keep his tone neutral, he straightened up from his previously crouched position and mimicked her posture, crossing his arms as well.  
"It's a gift. An apology, if you want. You can't give it back." Why did she look so damn kissable to his sleep-deprived self? Tony averted his gaze and instead focused on the shoes in front of him, which looked not as nice as she.

"I-", Pepper started but stopped, pinching the bridge of her nose with a sigh. Her voice made his gaze dart back to her and he couldn't but notice the red spots on the side of her nose. Did his assistant wear glasses? 

"God, what am I even doing here. Please, just stop it, okay? I thought we had resolved the whole situation?" She sounded just as tired as he felt. In a way, she was right. They had indeed talked the day before, or she had talked anyway, but it had ended the wrong way. Stubbornness was one of his weaker traits but a part of his personality nonetheless. And it seemed like she wore glasses, maybe contact lenses right now?  
Focus, he told himself, trying not to get lost in the puzzle Pepper Potts was.

"That's what I am trying to tell you. I'm sorry for screwing up but I'm not going to chicken out. We leave in a week and have to solve this beforehand."  
A dry laugh escaped her mouth, which was really pretty as he noticed before mentally scolding himself for paying attention to the way her red, plumb lips moved and-- "Tony, I told you this was not going to happen. We are not going anywhere. Return the shoes and let me do my job."

Just as before, she left without looking back, the sounds of her heels on the tiles slowly fading away. He had wanted to say something but it was obvious she had no intent to keep talking to him about this.

"JARVIS, pull up her profile."

\--

He tried it again with the shoes, after storing the first ones away in her office for her to find later on. At first, he considered Christian Louboutins after studying the information he had gathered on her but they quickly fell off the table once he saw even more expensive once, his mind still set on the idea of money solving everything (just as it normally did). This time they were a lot less appropriate and more fitting for a red carpet than his personal assistant. Problem was, he had no clue about that. To him, shoes were shoes. He saw the price, his A.I. said they fit her style so, without a second thought, he bought them and had them delivered to his mansion. Maybe giving them to her in person would help her see his side and spark a conversation.

It didn't.

Truth be told after she rejected the 1.09 $ Million Platinum Stilettos, he started catching up. Pepper almost fainted after seeing the shoes and was quick to return them in his name. No talking except her lecturing him about what a waste of money this was. In all the surprise he forgot to ask her about her glasses.

Not ready to give up on the gifts completely, he tried something more personal, another thing JARVIS suggested to him.

That's how she found him, putting out a small fire in the kitchen at three am with a dirty apron tied around his waist.

"Tony, what the hell are you doing?" Pepper's voice startled him and he almost dropped the fire extinguisher DUM-E had given to him earlier. He turned around, trying to hide the stove behind him and stared at her with wide eyes.  
"I- ehm, well, I'm cooking." That actually lured a smile from her lips. Somewhere his mind remembered that she had stayed and decided to sleep in her (guest) room which would explain the cotton pajamas she was wearing and the glasses on her nose (not to forget why she was there in the first place). Internally celebrating because he was right about the glasses, he turned toward the stove again and dropped the black pan with the unidentifiable goo into the sink.

"I tried to cook," he corrected himself as he turned on the faucet to wash his hands. Pepper padded closer with bare feet and sank down onto one of the bar stools. All lights except for the ones directly above him were off and the artificial lighting was casting weirdly formed shadows everywhere. If he concentrated he could even hear the waves crashing against the rocks beneath him.

"Should I ask why you are cooking in the middle of the night?" she said, resting her chin on her hands while watching him clean up the mess he made.  
"I wanted to surprise you since you didn't like my other gifts." Tony sighed and came to rest opposite her. Just as earlier last day, he mimicked her and lay his chin down on his knuckles. Early morning hours brought confusing feelings with them and everyone was a little more open and relaxed than during the day. Maybe they could finally, actually talk.

Although that could also turn out to be a bad idea considering he hadn't slept in approximately 36 hours and was not only sleep but also caffeine deprived. He suppressed a yawn and let his gaze wander over the woman in front of him. Glasses suit her, he noticed, and then, why does she look at me like that?

"I did like them. They were just... too much. I am not going to sleep with you, Tony. No matter how much courting you do."

Wait.

What.

Courting?

Flustered he bolted upright, stuttering and trying to process what she just said. "I am not courting you!" he exclaimed, offended she would even think something like that. He wasn't courting her, was he?   
The blush on his face was growing and has reached his ears by now. Pepper only chuckled and brushed a strand of her behind her own ear. She looked tired, no wonder the time.

"Sure, whatever you say. Just stop, please. Whatever it is you are doing. I'm not angry with you anymore."

"Never thought you were." Even to him, his words sounded empty.

She shook her head, gliding of her chair to retreat back to her room now that she was sure the house wasn't going to burn down. The matter was solved for her. Tony watched her leave again, unsure of why the conversation had ended just yet but this time he called after her before she could flee the room.

"Wait. I want to talk to you about something. Please?" He knew he sounded desperate but he was long past caring. Tiredness was overtaking his thoughts and he had no idea why he was even bothering with all this.   
Pepper stopped in her tracks and turned around. Everything he wanted to say got stuck in his throat and the words in his head tumbled together.

"I- Will we go?" It didn't make any sense but she understood him anyway, she always did. That's why he had hired her in the first place. Maybe he should give her another raise since she was putting up with all the bullshit he threw her way.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair and over her face. Her eyes closed for a second before she opened them again, staring right through him. Have her eyes always been this big and blue?

"Yes. Now please, go to bed and never try to cook again."

Tony watched her leaving before going up the stairs himself, the chaos in the kitchen forgotten. The lights behind him turned out and once he reached his bed, his body was finally overtaken by exhaustion and he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
